Around and about Pandeli – Leros
By Helen Grubner. Filed in Uncategorized |
View of Pandeli from Castle - Leros
Yesterday morning, awoke to The Meltemi – a hot wind which blows in July and August. Checked out of Hotel Panorama in good time to walk down to the harbour to await Dodekanisos Seaways catamaran ‘Dodekanisos Pride’ 1135 hours departure for the island of Leros. Spoke with an English guy at the Tourist Information office at the harbour who has been living on Kalymnos for eleven years and he has produced an excellent Visitors’ Guide called “The Slow Guide to Kalymnos”. Priced at just 2 Euro (he gave me a copy) it is a bargain – quite literally everything you need to know about the island is written in there.
I had been told the catamaran would dock at Agia Marina, however, because of the wind yesterday, it went to Lakki instead. On arrival I had no idea where I was going to stay but I had read on the Internet about Vangelis Studios in Pandeli and as it happened, George and his English wife Sue were there at the Port to tout for customers. I spoke with George, established that they had WiFi Internet and the room rate would be 30 Euro per night – sounded good to me.
The capital of Leros is Platanos, however, in recent years it has connected with Agia Marina and the tourist resort of Alinda in the north and Pandeli in the south. From Pandeli and Vangelis Studios there is a magnificent view of Apitiki Hill and Pandeli Castle – built in the 11th Century by the Byzantine Emperor Alexios Komninos. Unlike most other Greek islands, Leros is not reliant on tourism and does not shut down in the winter, with many Greeks from the mainland living and working here in the public sector.
There is a very nice Restaurant/Cafe/Bar/Hotel called “Castelo” located by the beach and right on the harbour in Pandeli and it was there where I met up with George, Sue and George’s father Vangelis yesterday afternoon and again in the evening. Back in my room I had had the misfortune of breaking my glasses whilst cleaning them, not the actual lens but the piece which holds the lens in the frame. George made a rather messy attempt to glue things together, however, today I went with them all to Lakki and saw an Optician who managed to clean up the mess somewhat and he could repair my glasses if I am able to soften the glue enough to take the lens out. In the meantime, I have invested in a pair of 10 Euro reading spectacles from the Pharmacy.
Early this morning I left my room to walk to Platanos and up the 300 odd steps to Pandeli Castle. Stopped in the square at Platanos on my way back for a freshly squeezed orange juice and then bought a spanakopita (spinach pie) from the bakery – half healthy breakfast. We left for Lakki around 1100 hours and George was kind enough to make the return journey via Gourna so that I could see another part of the island which is not big – you can drive around the entire island in one hour. The roads are lined with eucalyptus and pine trees and the green valleys contrast with the barren hills, I will call them – not really high enough to be mountains.
Tonight I am looking forward to dinner in one of several tavernas located right on the harbour and then perhaps I will visit Savana Bar.